Stock Traders Purchase High Volume of BJ's Wholesale Club Call Options (NYSE:BJ)

BJ's Wholesale Club Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:BJ - Get Free Report) was the target of some unusual options trading activity on Monday. Stock investors purchased 5,479 call options on the company. This is an increase of approximately 151% compared to the average volume of 2,179 call options.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Wells Fargo & Company reiterated an "overweight" rating on shares of BJ's Wholesale Club in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on shares of BJ's Wholesale Club from $115.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, March 7th. Loop Capital increased their target price on BJ's Wholesale Club from $95.00 to $110.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, March 7th. Evercore ISI cut their price target on shares of BJ's Wholesale Club from $115.00 to $110.00 and set an "in-line" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on BJ's Wholesale Club from $98.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $110.82.

BJ's Wholesale Club Stock Up 2.4 %

Shares of BJ stock traded up $2.74 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $118.57. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,883,776 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,642,309. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a quick ratio of 0.14 and a current ratio of 0.76. The stock has a market cap of $15.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.50, a PEG ratio of 4.50 and a beta of 0.54. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $110.18 and a 200 day moving average price of $98.68. BJ's Wholesale Club has a 52-week low of $72.38 and a 52-week high of $121.10.

BJ's Wholesale Club (NYSE:BJ - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 6th. The company reported $0.93 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.86 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $5.28 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $5.29 billion. BJ's Wholesale Club had a return on equity of 35.41% and a net margin of 2.71%. Research analysts predict that BJ's Wholesale Club will post 3.96 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, SVP Joseph Mcgrail sold 2,100 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $119.74, for a total transaction of $251,454.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 14,240 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,705,097.60. The trade was a 12.85 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Robert Allan Steele sold 11,813 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $107.59, for a total transaction of $1,270,960.67. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 24,351 shares in the company, valued at $2,619,924.09. This represents a 32.67 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 328,505 shares of company stock worth $37,452,686 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 2.00% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On BJ's Wholesale Club

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Covestor Ltd lifted its stake in BJ's Wholesale Club by 66.5% in the 4th quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 288 shares of the company's stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 115 shares in the last quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. boosted its stake in BJ's Wholesale Club by 652.9% during the fourth quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 527 shares of the company's stock valued at $47,000 after buying an additional 457 shares during the last quarter. Tortoise Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in BJ's Wholesale Club by 78.7% during the 4th quarter. Tortoise Investment Management LLC now owns 529 shares of the company's stock valued at $47,000 after buying an additional 233 shares in the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. increased its stake in BJ's Wholesale Club by 68.2% in the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 624 shares of the company's stock worth $56,000 after acquiring an additional 253 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new stake in shares of BJ's Wholesale Club during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $55,000. 98.60% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

BJ's Wholesale Club Company Profile

BJ's Wholesale Club Holdings, Inc engages in the operation of membership warehouse clubs. Its product categories include grocery, household and pet, television and electronics, furniture, computer and tablets, patio and outdoor living, lawn and garden, baby and kids, toys, home, health and beauty, appliances, and jewelry.